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Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong A Plan for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory

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Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong — A Plan for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory

Published by the Department of Education

© 2017 Northern Territory Government of Australia – licence under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 4

What is an Indigenous Languages and Cultures program? 5

Benefits to student learning 5

Curriculum and program pathways 6

2. TALKING, LEARNING AND WORKING TOGETHER 8

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 10

System level 10

School level 11

Community level 13

4. GUIDELINES 14

4.1 Initiating phase 16

Strong ownership 16

Coordinated partnerships 20

Data identification 22

4.2 Embedding phase 24

Systematic curriculum delivery 24

Assessment 25

Planned use of resources 26

Expert teams 28

4.3 Reviewing phase 30

Data analysis 30

5. CASE STUDIES 32

6. APPENDICES, TEMPLATES AND RESOURCES 33

Appendix 1 ILC program pathway characteristic summary 34

Appendix 2 Working with Children Clearance Notices 36

Appendix 3 Case studies 38

4

Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

1.

INTRODUCTION

These guidelines are designed to assist Northern Territory (NT) government schools

to deliver Indigenous Languages and Cultures (ILC) programs in line with the Northern

Territory Board of Studies Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong – A Plan

for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory

(here after referred to as the Plan).

…the Plan provides a long-term vision

and goal for building the capacity

of our Indigenous leaders, sector

and school leaders, and classroom

educators to implement teaching

and learning programs in Indigenous

Languages and Cultures.1

In line with national standards, the Plan establishes a framework for ILC programs to be delivered as an Australian Curriculum Languages learning area.

While all students in the NT should have access to learning a language, the decision to teach an Aboriginal language is made by the school and the school community.

There are currently at least 50 schools across the NT delivering ILC programs in 27 different languages.2

The form in which these programs exist include systematically delivered programs taught throughout the school year, intensive programs taught over a few weeks each year and programs that have a culture-only focus. The NT Department of Education (the department) acknowledges the value of all ILC programs as well as the challenges faced by schools in delivering them within the context and resource availability of each school.

1. Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong – A Plan for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory 2017 p.4

2. Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong: A basis policy for the teaching of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in schools in the NT. (Discussion Paper) 2016 p.11

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

These guidelines provide an implementation process and advice to assist schools to work towards the goals of the Plan and for the school, school community and Aboriginal language and culture custodians to:

• build the capacity of an existing ILC program

• re-establish an ILC program that previously existed

• establish an ILC program for the first time.

These guidelines are supported by various appendices, attachments and templates. These can be found at www.education.nt.gov.au/education/policies

What is an Indigenous Languages

and Cultures program?

An Indigenous Languages and Cultures program is a program offered by the school in an Australian Aboriginal language. At the heart of teaching and learning Indigenous languages and cultures is cultural knowledge. An ILC program allows students to engage with cultural knowledge and content within the conceptual framework of a specific language and community.3

Ownership of each Aboriginal language belongs to the group of people who are its custodians. Languages can be taught in schools with the consent and agreement of their custodians and the commitment of local staff and the community to share and teach their language and cultural knowledge.

Benefits to student learning

An ILC program provides opportunities for all students in the NT to:

• learn and engage with and through an Aboriginal language and culture as a basis for participation in the social and economic life of the NT

• acknowledge and respect the histories, values, languages and cultures of Aboriginal Territorians

• develop meaningful relationships with Aboriginal people that value community knowledge, wisdom and experience and demonstrate trust and respect.

Additionally, in the NT, Aboriginal languages are still the primary medium of communication in many locations, and significant numbers of students speak an Aboriginal language as their first language. An ILC program provides the opportunity for these students to:

• extend their communication and literacy abilities

• strengthen their understanding of the nature of language and culture and the processes of communication

• strengthen their intellectual, analytical and reflective capabilities and enhance creative and critical thinking

• explore and engage with local cultural knowledge as a foundation not only for learning language but for studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Science.

It is also important to acknowledge the many students, particularly within the urban schooling context, who identify with an Aboriginal language and cultural group while no longer speaking the language. For this group of students, an ILC program provides opportunities for recognising, valuing and strengthening cultural identity and sense of self.

3. Adapted from Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong – A Plan for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory 2017 p.28

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Curriculum and

program pathways

The Northern Territory Board of Studies

(NTBOS) has approved the Northern

Territory Indigenous Languages and

Cultures Curriculum as the curriculum

for teaching ILC programs in NT schools.

The curriculum provides a guide for the school and school community to negotiate what language and culture will be taught and how it will be taught.

The curriculum has been developed to accommodate a variety of language learning pathways to meet the needs of individual schools and student cohorts, namely:

• First Language Pathway (L1)

• Second Language Learner Pathway (L2)

• Language Revival Pathways (LR)

• Language and Cultural Awareness Pathway (LCA).

Figure 1 outlines the model for the NT ILC Curriculum and language learner pathways.

Selection of a language learning pathway is also negotiated with the school community and based on the student and community language profile and the situation of the language(s) (i.e. how active the language is).

Appendix 1 Program pathway characteristic summary outlines the characteristics of each program pathway to assist schools in comparing their student and community language profiles against the pathway options.

7

Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Figure 1 A model for the NT ILC Curriculum

8

Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

2.

TALKING, LEARNING AND WORKING TOGETHER

A successful ILC program will be achieved through balancing the school’s and

community’s priorities and ways of working.

Figure 2. Utulu kutju Nintiringanyi (UKN) is a model for the school and community to work together to support children’s learning from Areyonga (Utju) School.

This model identifies the different perspectives and requirements the school and community need to negotiate. This will be achieved by the community and school coming together to talk and learn about each of the perspectives as a basis for deciding on:

• common goals

• ways community and school will work together

• the responsibilities of the school and those of the community for achieving these goals.

UKN represents the non-Aboriginal person coming to the hearth and sitting down to talk, learn and work together with local Aboriginal people.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

SHARED RESPONSIBILITYWhat do

we want to happen?

What is community responsible

for?

What is school

responsible for?

How will we decide if the program is working?

How to work the right way with

language and culture.

What can we teach at school?

Why do we want to teach it at school?

Who can teach it?

How do we know the kids are learning

what we want them to learn?

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY

Talking, working and learning together to make a strong language and culture program

NTBOS policy and guidelines

NT ILC Curriculum, assessment and

reporting requirements

NT DoE requirements for teachers

Figure 2 UKN – A model for working together. Reproduced and adapted with permission of Tarna Andrews (B.Ed), Areyonga School, 2016.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

School Support Services is responsible for:

• developing support materials for schools to assist with the teaching, learning, assessing and reporting against the NT Indigenous Languages and Cultures Curriculum

• evaluating the implementation and outcomes of ILC programs in the NT.

Human Resources is responsible for:

• assisting and supporting the employment and professional development of Aboriginal people in schools

• managing and providing training in the use of a professional learning system that enables schools and regions to record and report on workforce development.

Performance and Data Management is responsible for:

• assisting regions and schools to collate and analyse data that enables the review of ILC programs against performance measures.

3.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The implementation of ILC programs involves leadership and support at the system,

school and community levels.

System level

School Operations North and South are responsible for:

• providing advice and guidance to schools undertaking community consultation and engagement to establish an ILC program agreement

• monitoring and reviewing the implementation of ILC programs within their regions through the School Review process.

Regional offices are responsible for:

• establishing regional networks and facilitating workshops for teachers and teaching teams to clarify, confirm and review assessment tasks and student work

• providing professional development opportunities for Aboriginal language speakers/teachers to support ILC workforce development

• promoting team teaching practice in schools

• identifying and addressing barriers to ILC program delivery in the region.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

School level

School principals are responsible for:

• acknowledging that an ILC program can only be implemented through meaningful partnerships with community members

• initiating and maintaining consultation and engagement with the community and its leaders about an ILC program

• establishing a sustainable ILC program agreement with community language representatives

• ensuring adequate funding and time is allocated to the program development and delivery

• ensuring program coordination and administration tasks are managed by themselves or a nominated person

• establishing and supporting performance and development plans for all staff

• establishing partnerships to support the development and delivery of the ILC program

• establishing performance measures and data collection processes within the school to measure program performance and facilitate program reviews and an improvement agenda.

School Council is responsible for:

• providing strong direction and vision for the ILC program

• sharing information with the community about ILC and encouraging strong partnerships between the school community and the school

• appointing an ILC advisory group/committee (where appropriate) to assist with community consultation and provide ILC program advice to the school council

• supporting the allocation of resources in the school’s global budget, including the commitment to employ language teaching staff.

Where a school has a Joint School

Representative Body or a Parent

Consultative Group, these groups will

provide the principal with advice on

the ILC program and may assist with

community consultation; however,

they do not have the authority to

appoint an advisory committee or

provide budget advice.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

ILC program coordinators (where capacity exists to appoint one) are responsible for:

• coordinating and supporting program development, planning and resource management

• undertaking administrative tasks to support staff and Aboriginal language speakers/teachers to deliver the program, such as;

> organising Ochre Cards

> finding alternative Aboriginal language speakers/teachers if someone is sick or occupied with other business

> organising transport for the Aboriginal language speakers/teachers as required

> keeping timesheets and passing them on for payment

• looking after resources and documentation relevant to the program.

Assistant Teachers are responsible for:

• advising on cultural protocols for engaging with Elders and Traditional Owners and in teaching language and culture

• participating in ‘planning together’ sessions to assist with developing the ILC program scope and sequence, units of work and lesson plans

• assisting with or (where appropriate) delivering ILC lessons

• working in a teaching team to assess and maintain records of student progress and achievement

• engaging in professional learning in accordance with their performance and development plan.

Aboriginal language speakers/teachers are responsible for:

• teaching the children to understand and use the language and culture of the program

• participating in planning time and working in teaching teams to inform the development of the ILC program scope and sequence, units of work and lesson plans

• participating in ‘learning together’ sessions to assist teachers in understanding cultural protocols and the language and culture being taught

• assisting with the selection and development of ILC program resources

• engaging in professional learning in accordance with their performance and development plan.

Classroom teachers are responsible for:

• developing their cultural and language awareness

• working in a teaching team and providing full support to Assistant Teachers and Aboriginal language speakers/teachers in ILC program development and delivery.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Community level

Community leaders/Traditional Owners/Elders are responsible for:

• providing permission for the school to use the knowledge and language of which they are the custodian and engage with the school to establish an ILC program agreement

• working with the school and community to decide what language(s) will be taught and which ILC program pathway will be used

• providing the relevant language speakers with permission to teach the language and culture

• working with the school to decide what can be taught and how, when and where it can be taught

• teaching where they feel comfortable to do so and with the support of others.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

4.

GUIDELINES

There are three key phases to the implementation of an ILC program within

a school: initiating, embedding and reviewing.

The initiating, embedding and reviewing phases are interdependent, and a program’s success and sustainability depends on all being carried out effectively.

This will not always be a linear process, and schools may have to revisit and amend certain elements of the program’s development to ensure they all align with the program’s goals.

The timeline for working through each phase will vary for individual schools and depend on whether the school is establishing a program for the first time, re-establishing a program that previously existed or aligning an existing program within the Plan and the Northern Territory Indigenous Languages and Cultures Curriculum.

Additionally, each ILC program is unique based on the languages and cultures being taught, the program learner pathway being delivered, the resources available and the context of the school. However, as outlined in Section 5. Case Studies, ILC programs do have common factors, which are the focuses of these guidelines.

Each ILC program is unique based

on the languages and cultures being

taught and the program learner

pathway being delivered.

Appendix 3 Case studies provides five short case studies that give a snapshot of the teaching and learning of ILC in the NT across different schools and learner pathways.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

INITIATING

PH

AS

E

RE

VIE

WIN

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ILC INDIGENOUS

LANGUAGES AND CULTURES

EMBEDDING PHASE

Analys and review data

Improvement agenda

Strong ownership

Coordinated partnership

Identify and collect data

Systematic curriculum delivery

Expert teams

Planned use of resources

Figure 3 Implementation framework for a quality Indigenous Languages and Cultures program

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

4.1

INITIATING PHASE

Strong ownership

Consultation and engagement

Strong ownership and decision making by Aboriginal leaders who are the owners and custodians of the languages and cultures is a key principle of an ILC program. Additionally, there are a variety of stakeholders within the school and school community who also need to commit to and own a school ILC program. Table 1 on the following page outlines stakeholder groups to be consulted and the key issues to be addressed.

The consultation and engagement process will establish the foundation of an ILC program and, therefore, must be well planned and coordinated. Protocols must be adhered to when speaking with Aboriginal leaders, Elders and Traditional Owners to ensure respectful relationships are built.

A Stakeholder engagement plan will assist with this process and ensure all key program issues are discussed with all relevant stakeholders. A consultation timeline will assist with maintaining momentum and ensuring people remain engaged, although timelines may need to be flexible to allow stakeholders sufficient time to consider the program and their individual roles.

A Feedback register should also be established to record the opinions, concerns and general feedback of stakeholders.

The consultation and engagement

process will establish the foundation

of an ILC program and therefore must

be well planned and coordinated.

Template 1 Stakeholder engagement plan provides an example of how schools can plan their consultation.

Template 2 Feedback register provides an example of how schools can record feedback, concerns and issues that stakeholders express.

Useful resource The Northern Territory Government has also published some useful resources to guide the community engagement process http://www.bushready.nt.gov.au/good-engagement

INITIATING

PH

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ILC

EMBEDDING PHASE

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

A School Council may decide to appoint an ILC advisory group to provide advice regarding the implementation of an ILC program.

The ILC advisory group could:

• assist with the consultation process and gathering information and data about the school and school community language profiles

• report to the School Council on the school community’s feedback about the idea of an ILC program

• explore and identify possible ILC program partners

STAKEHOLDERS KEY ISSUES

School Council/Parent Consultative Group

• endorsement of ILC program implementation and resourcing in school• where a school has a Joint School Representative Body or Parent Consultative

Group, they should be consulted; however, they do not have the authority to provide budget-related advice

All school staff • support and feedback on program pathway options, professional development needs and resourcing requirements

Aboriginal school staff/Assistant Teachers

• support and understanding of responsibilities that will be placed upon themselves and other language speakers/teachers

• gaining feedback on program pathway options, professional development needs and resourcing requirements

• identifying key Aboriginal Elders/Traditional Owners that must be consulted and the languages they speak

Aboriginal leaders/Elders/Traditional Owners

• granting permission for the school to teach Aboriginal knowledge and language(s)• identifying who can teach the language(s) and culture • negotiating and establishing an ILC program agreement between language

custodians and the school

Parents • informing parents about what an ILC program is and seeking feedback on what language(s) and culture should be taught

Potential program partners

• identifying potential program partners—such as language centres, neighbouring schools, community and government organisations, universities and training organisations—and what support they can provide

Table 1 Consultation and engagement

• advise on the viability and sustainability of ILC program pathway options

• provide feedback on the performance of the program.

Where a school has a Joint School Representative Body or a Parent Consultative Group, these groups will provide the principal with advice on the ILC program and may assist with community consultation; however, they do not have the authority to appoint an advisory group or provide budget advice.

Template 3 School ILC advisory group/committee terms of reference is a template that the School Council may wish to use or adapt to govern the appointment and functions of an ILC advisory group.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Choosing the language and program pathway

Prior to making any decisions on an ILC program pathway, the school should gather the following language profile data:

• the language groups in the school community

• the language group/s of landowners

• the number of people in the school community who speak each language

• the number of students who speak each language

• the number of staff who speak each language

• the languages that can be taught orally and in reading and writing

• the resources that are available for each language (people and materials).

This data could come from:

• consultation with the school community

• linguistic surveys

• student data.

Using language profile data, the school must consider the program pathway options that are available to them and which program pathway option/s best suits their students, schooling context and resource availability.

Appendix 1 Program pathway characteristic summary outlines the characteristic of each program pathway to assist schools in comparing their student and language data against the pathway options. Schools should also refer to the Plan for further information on program pathways (pp. 31–41).

Program size and structure

The size and structure of each

school’s ILC program will differ and

be based on a variety of factors,

including the school and school

community language profile, the

size of the school, and the available

resources and language speakers.

Table 2 provides examples of different ILC program sizes and structures that schools may adopt.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Table 2 Program size and structure examples

Starting small

Where there are limited speakers and resources available, the school and community are best to start small. This may involve:

• running lessons for one class only (e.g. Year 1 or Year 8)

• planning a short program for one term

• offering the program as an elective for interested students.

The school and community can then build on the program capacity as resources, capability and structures are put in place to support this.

Teaching more than one language

More than one language can be taught at the same time where the language profile data and resource availability support such a decision. This would occur:

• where there are students from more than one language group living in the community, such as in Maningrida, Ti Tree and Ngukurr

• where students are speaking one language as their first language but identify with another language, such as in Galiwin’ku, where the students speak Djambarrpuyngu but also identify with a clan language.

Adopting more than one pathway

Where more than one language is being taught, the school may choose a different program pathway for each language. The student profiles and language situations will highlight cases where this could occur. For example:

• at Galiwin’ku, where students speak Djambarrpuyngu as their first language and may have to learn their clan language through a language revival pathway

• in the Katherine region, where students speak Kriol as their first language, and communities may wish the students to learn their heritage languages through a language revival pathway.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Co-ordinated partnerships

ILC program agreement

Once the school, school community, and language owners and custodians have reached a consensus through the consultation and research process, the outcomes should be represented through some form of ILC program agreement. This may be in the form of a written agreement, a piece of artwork, a special ceremony or meeting or combination of these forms.

Regardless of how the ILC program agreement is established, there should be a clear understanding of the elements by all parties outlined in Table 3.

If a written agreement is formed, it is recommended that it be translated into the language(s) to be taught and displayed within the school.

The establishment of the ILC program

agreement should be celebrated by

the school and school community.

The school and/or community should organise a special event to acknowledge the agreement and the establishment of a partnership and commitment to keeping the community’s languages and cultures strong.

Template 4 School ILC program agreement provides a template for a written ILC agreement that schools may wish to use or adapt to their own needs.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Table 3 ILC program agreement

ELEMENT CONTENT

Language and culture • the language(s) to be taught

• acknowledgement of the owners and custodians of the language(s)

• commitment to ongoing consultation with the owners and custodians of the language(s)

Program • the goals of the program (i.e. what do the school and community want to achieve through it)

• the program pathway that will be used (i.e. L1, L2, LR, LCA)

• the time that will be allocated to teaching the program (should meet minimum requirements)

• who will learn the language and culture (what year levels/any exemptions)

• assurance that teaching will respect cultural requirements (e.g. boys and girls separated depending on age and content

• agreement about whether to teach On Country as part of the program

• when the program will be reviewed and how the school, language custodians and partners will work together to improve the program

Teachers • who will teach language and culture

• who will support the teachers of the language and culture

Community support/language and culture teachers

• the support the school community will provide to develop and teach the language and culture program

• employment and pay conditions for Aboriginal language speakers who assist in the program development and delivery

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Data identification

Performance measures

The principal will need to develop a plan for the collection of data that will allow the school to measure the program’s performance.

Performance measures will be based on the ILC program goals. Performance measures will vary from school to school and will depend on factors such as the program pathway being delivered and whether the program is an existing or new program.

Once the measures have been established, the school will determine its data needs and how that data will be collected. Some data-collection practices will already exist for the school (for example, student achievement in the Student Achievement Information System (SAIS)); however, other measures may require the school to establish local data-collection methods and practices.

It is important that the school collects baseline data on the performance measures at the commencement of the program.

Examples of performance measures and data collection are provided in Table 4.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Table 4 Performance measures examples

ILC PROGRAM GOAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES DATA DATA SOURCE

Increase the number of students who speak the language being taught

Number of students accessing the ILC program

ILC achievement in SAIS

SAIS/BIC reports

Number of students achieving a C grade or above in the ILC program

ILC achievement in SAIS

SAIS/BIC reports

Increased focus on workforce development

Progression of Assistant Teachers and language speakers/teachers through the Assistant Teacher Professional Standards

Staff qualification profile

School level reporting and collection

Assistant Teachers and/or teachers undertaking/achieving language teaching qualifications

Staff qualification profile

School level reporting and collection

Number of in-service training events that align with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers or the Assistant Teacher Professional Standards

School-based training events

Professional learning system/myBiz PLS Term Report

Increased parental involvement with school

Number of parents involved in ILC program (resource development, On Country lessons, classroom lessons etc.)

Parent attendance and participation register

School level reporting and collection

Improved community partnership

ILC program agreement established and maintained

ILC program agreement and ongoing consultation targets met

School level reporting and collection

Community awareness and satisfaction with the ILC program

Stakeholder consultation and engagement feedback register

School level reporting and collection

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Systematic curriculum delivery

School scope and sequence

Classroom teachers and language speakers/teachers will work collaboratively to develop a scope and sequence aligned with the Northern Territory Indigenous Languages and Cultures Curriculum.

Additionally, the Northern Territory Indigenous Languages and Cultures Curriculum cuts across the subject matter and concepts of other Australian Curriculum learning areas; in particular; Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Arts and Health and Physical Education. Schools are encouraged to integrate curriculum learning areas to provide a learning experience that is relevant to the students’ needs.

4.2

EMBEDDING PHASE

Embedding an ILC program in the school involves the systematic planning and delivery of curriculum, allocation of resources and budget, and development of expert teaching teams.

Where a school’s capacity and resources permit, the establishment of an ILC program coordinator role would promote the development, delivery and capacity building of the program (refer to Roles and responsibilities section).

The scope and sequence should cover all year and age levels that were agreed upon in the ILC program agreement. It will also inform the school of how students will need to be grouped for certain lessons depending on the cultural knowledge being taught; for example, language/clan/skin groups, boys and girls or age groups.

ILC Curriculum resources are available on Learning Links.

INITIATING

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ILC

EMBEDDING PHASE

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Timetabling

Flexibility is a feature of successful ILC programs. The timetable should:

• reflect when lessons can happen

• be adjusted when necessary to allowfor staff availability, community eventsand On Country lessons

• provide time for teaching teams toplan together.

The NTBOS Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment and Reporting Framework for Quality Education in Northern Territory Schools 2018-2020

provides recommended time allocations for the teaching of languages. The school and community should use this as a guide to determine their ILC program teaching time allocations.

Appendix A of the NTBOS Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment and Reporting Framework for Quality Education in Northern Territory Schools 2018-2020 provides recommended teaching times for the languages learning area.

Assessment

Assessment is to follow the department’s Quality Assurance Assessment Cycle which supports a shared understanding of curriculum levels and standards, and consistency of teacher judgement.

Teachers and teaching teams (where available) are to work together with colleagues to engage in school, regional and system level clarifying and confirming (moderation) each semester. For one-teacher schools, the process will begin at a regional level.

Professional learning resources and Materials to support teachers to use the Quality Assurance Assessment Cycle process can be accessed from Learning Links.

Reporting student progress

ILC student achievements are reported to parents using A–E grades recorded in the Student Achievement Information System (SAIS). Teachers will use the Indigenous Languages and Cultures reporting area built into SAIS and ensure that the program pathway, language and a comment are included.

Where integrated curriculum units are delivered, it is expected that schools will report student outcomes against both curriculum learning areas.

The Quality Assurance Assessment Cycle assists teachers and teaching teams to:

• plan using curriculum achievementstandards

• plan using the Aboriginal languages requiredin the delivery of the ILC Curriculum

• clarify and confirm ILC achievementstandards

• support consistency and integrity of teacherjudgement

• review and improve assessment practicesthat contribute to improving student learning

• promote a collaborative professional learningcommunity within the school and region.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Language and culture teachers

ILC program planning, teaching and assessing can only be achieved in collaboration with Aboriginal language speakers who have the relevant permissions to teach the language and culture.

If the relevant language teachers are not already working within the school, the school will need to employ the appropriate language speakers/teachers. A job description that outlines responsibilities will assist in setting out the expectations of language speakers/teachers employed to deliver the program.

All people who engage with students within the school must have a current Working with Children Clearance (Ochre Card) unless they fit the eligibility criteria for an exemption.

Appendix 2 Working with Children Clearance Notices fact sheet provides advice to schools on clearance requirements and exemptions.

Resource materials

During planning time, teaching teams will identify what resources currently exist and what resources need to be developed for a unit of work. Schools should refer to Learning Links for information about where to source ILC resources.

Existing resource materials should be checked to ensure they are appropriate for use.

• All materials containing cultural knowledgeshould be approved by appropriate peoplefor use with students of the intended agegroups and genders.

• Videos, audio or photographs should bechecked for images of deceased people andapproval sought for their use.

Where new resources need be developed to support the program, the school must provide the time, space and materials required for these to be produced.

Consideration should also be given to the safekeeping of resources, including:

• back-up and digitisation, which may includeplans to lodge the resource with:

> Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages (LAAL)

> Australian Institute of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)

> Centre for Australian Languages andLinguistics (CALL)

• storage that protects the materials fromphysical deterioration

• storage that respects protocols around accessand viewing.

Planned use of resources

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Resources, copyright and moral rights

All resources developed by employees of the school or school council to support the program are owned by the school (NT Government) or the school council (i.e. the school/school council owns the copyright).

However, the school must acknowledge and attribute any resources containing language and cultural knowledge to the author of the materials. The school must not claim credit for the work or use or modify the work in any way that may cause offence to the author/creator. These are the moral rights of the author/creator of the resource.

It is important that schools respect and acknowledge that the stories and pictures being used to teach ILC programs belong to the language owners and their descendants.

Additional resources and partnerships

Partnerships with language centres, neighbouring schools, community and government organisations, universities and training organisations can support the implementation of an ILC program.

Examples of such partnerships include:

• regional and interschool networks andactivities, such as moderation workshopsfor schools teaching the same language, ILClesson planning workshops or establishing‘sister school’ programs

• arrangements with Aboriginal rangerprograms to assist with the teaching oflanguage and culture, including the deliveryof On Country lessons

• working with regional language centres toshare and develop resources and languageexpertise where permission has beenprovided by the language custodians

• developing relationships with universitiesand linguists to improve the teaching andunderstanding of Aboriginal languages.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Expert teams

Teaching teams

All members of the teaching team will have key knowledge and skills to contribute to the development and delivery of the program.

Local language speakers/teachers hold and share knowledge of their language and culture. Some may also have many years’ experience in working within a team teaching situation and teaching Aboriginal languages and cultures.

Classroom teachers will bring and share knowledge of curriculum development, teaching, assessment and reporting and the system requirements for subject area teaching and learning.

In team teaching Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal team members, take turns as leaders and learners when working together to decide what and how to teach as well as who will teach. This approach builds strong team practices and develops individual knowledge and skills.

Team Teaching resources are available on Learning Links and provide schools with ‘learning together’ modules that will assist in building effective team teaching practices.

Workforce development

The sustainability of ILC programs relies on the capacity of the language teaching workforce. Understanding and meeting the professional development needs of language teaching staff is key to the success of the program.

It is the role of the principal to ensure that all teaching staff have a performance and development plan that identifies the individual’s professional development goals. The principal is also responsible for ensuring that employees are provided with the opportunities and support to realise these goals.

Some examples of professional learning and development that support ILC program delivery include:

• the ILC program coordinator beingsupported to develop knowledge of thelanguage, formal qualifications in languagesteaching, program management andcoordination skills or leadership skills

• Assistant Teachers being supported toprogress through the Assistant TeacherProfessional Standard Levels and pathwaysfor language teaching to continue on toqualify as a teacher or attend workshops andtraining opportunities

• language speakers/teachers being supportedto progress through the Assistant TeacherProfessional Standard Levels, work towardsa teaching qualification or other accreditedqualifications, or attend workshops andtraining opportunities in language work,linguistics or language teaching

• all staff are being supported to becomeeffective team teachers through in-service‘learning together’ sessions and, whererelevant, becoming a qualified languageteachers.

Registered Teacher Performance and Development resources and the online Teacher Performance Plan facility should be used for registered teachers.

The Assistant Teacher Performance and Development Plan template is recommended to be used for all Assistant Teachers and language speakers/teachers.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Recording and reportingon workforce development – Professional Learning System

The Professional Learning System enables the online recording of staff professional development and learning and should be used for all school staff, including language speakers/teachers. This requires all staff to have an NTSchools ePass account.

School-level professional learning reports are generated each term from the Professional Learning System. Principals can access the reports from myBiz and track them against performance and development plans.

Schools should ensure that any in-service training that aligns with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers or the Assistant Teacher Professional Standards is entered into the Professional Learning System as a training event and all staff attendance recorded against it.

The Professional Learning System and associated resources will guide schools and staff through registering for learning events and registering their own learning events. Technical support and training is also available.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Schools will review their ILC program in line with the ILC program agreement review date to inform the future direction of the program and establishment of a new agreement.

4.3

REVIEWING PHASE

Data analysis

The principal will need to lead the program review through collating and analysing performance measurement data.

It is important that performance measurement data is presented and discussed with the school community. The stakeholder consultation and engagement process outlined in these guidelines should be applied for this process.

The objective is to use the data to determine what can be done to improve the performance in each area and/or what are the reasons for the program achieving well in certain areas and how can this be sustained.

Performance indicators

Schools may also choose to use performance indicators as part of their ILC program review process. Performance indicators are not used to measure program performance but when reviewed, may indicate that the program is influencing or affecting performance in certain areas.

Table 5 details some examples of performance indicators and data collection methods that a school may use in reviewing their ILC program.

INITIATING

PH

AS

E

RE

VIE

WIN

G PHASE

ILC

EMBEDDING PHASE

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

• the talking, learning and working togetherthat has occurred between the school, theschool community and language ownersand custodians

• the growth of the program (for example, fromyears T–4 to T–6 or from an oral languageprogram to including reading and writing)

• the development of lesson plans andresources to support teaching and learning

• the teaching and learning that has occurredOn Country

• partnerships with language centres, regions,other schools or organisations

• how people feel when they are participatingin the program and student achievements.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS DATA DATA SOURCE

Improved student attendance Attendance rates SAMS2 / BIC

Improved student achievement across learning areas connected to the ILC program (e.g. science, humanities and social sciences)

Learning area achievement in SAIS

SAIS / BIC

Increased parental involvement in school Increase in parents participating in parent teacher interviews

School level reporting and collection

Employee workplace satisfaction Higher staff retention and lower staff absences

PIPS

Program milestones

Schools should remember to recognise the program milestones and achievements that are not necessarily linked to the program goals. These should be identified and celebrated openly, with recognition going to those who have contributed. Such milestones and achievements may include:

Table 5 Performance indicator examples

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Appendix 3 consists of five short case studies that provide a snapshot of the

teaching and learning of ILC programs in different schools across the NT.

These case studies may assist schools in assessing how they may structure

their own ILC program.

The case studies demonstrate the variety of learner pathways and programs currently being delivered. They also show that each program works differently and faces different challenges, depending on the school context and the resources available. However, the case studies also highlight that there are a number of factors that are common to each program, including;

5.

CASE STUDIES

• the involvement of Elders and community members in the programs

• cultural days and weeks, including visits to country as well as teaching and learning in the classroom

• visits to local organisations

• representation of the program within school leadership, including local Aboriginal teachers and community members as leaders

• ongoing allocation of resources, including the allocation of teachers, the employment of community teachers and leaders, and resource development

• structured developmental programs that can be handed onto new staff

• supportive teams of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal colleagues engaged in curriculum planning, resource development and delivery

• a qualification and career pathway for younger teachers to learn through an apprenticeship or ‘on-the-job’ model

• partnership/relationships with other organisations, including community and regional language centres, universities and other education providers, and other schools in the region or sector

• ongoing professional learning and teacher training for speakers of the language.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

6.

APPENDICES, TEMPLATES AND RESOURCES

Appendices Appendix 1 ILC program pathway characteristic summary

Appendix 2 Working with Children Clearance Notices fact sheet

Appendix 3 Case studies

Templates Template 1 Stakeholder engagement plan

Template 2 Feedback register

Template 3 School ILC committee terms of reference

Template 4 School ILC program agreement

Resources and useful links

• Assistant Teacher Professional Standards

• Australian Curriculum – Languages

• Learning Links – ILC resources

• NT ILC Curriculum

• NTG best-practice guide for remote engagement and coordination

• Team Teaching – Learning Links

• Registered Teacher Performance and Development Plan

• Assistant Teacher Performance and Development Plan

• Professional Learning System

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Appendix 1. ILC program pathway characteristic summary

There are a number of factors that the school and school community must consider together when deciding on a program pathway. This includes the language profile data of the community and students, the school and community commitment and capacity to deliver the curriculum, and the community’s permission for the school to teach their languages and cultures as well as their agreement to support the program through the provision of language and culture teachers.

Characteristics of each pathway are summarised below. Full detail of each pathway is provided in the Keeping Indigenous Languages and Cultures Strong – A Plan for Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Languages and Cultures in the Northern Territory (p 31–41).

PATHWAYFIRST LANGUAGE

PATHWAY (L1)SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER

PATHWAY (L2)LANGUAGE REVIVAL

PATHWAY (LR)LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL

AWARENESS PATHWAY (LCA)

L1 Maintenance L1 Bilingual LR Revitalisation LR Renewal LR Reclamation

Language Everyone in the community speaks the language most of the time.

Everyone in the community speaks the language most of the time.

The language is spoken by an entire community. May not belong to the country on which the school is located.

A generation ofold people knowthe language areavailable.

Only a fewold people knowthe language.

No one speaksthe language‘right through’any more.

Can be any language. May belong to thecountry on which the school is located.

Students Students speak the language on a daily basis as their first language.

Students speak the language on a daily basis as their first language.

Students don’t speak the language. Students mayunderstand someof the language and speak some words and phrases.

Students havelimited to nounderstandingof the language.

Students havelimited to nounderstandingof the language.

Students don’t speak the language.

School commitment

Minimum teaching times:

T–6: 1 hour per day.

7–12: 2 hours per week.

Minimum teaching times:

Varies, but the first language will be used for a large percentage of the teaching time across all language areas in early years and maintained in middle and senior years.

Minimum teaching times:

T–6: 1.25 hours a week.

7–12: 2 hours a week.

Minimumteaching times:1 hour per day.

Minimumteaching times:1 hour per day.

Minimumteaching times:1 hour per day.

Minimum teaching times:

T–6: 1.25 hours a week.

7–12: 2 hours a week.

Teachers and resources

Teaching team including a speaker is available.

Teaching teams and curriculum developers develop materials across a range of learning areas, including reading materials.

Teaching team including a speaker of the language and a range of teaching materials, including written materials and access to country visits.

Teaching teamincluding a speakeris available.

Teaching teamincluding a speakeris available.

Teaching teamincluding a teacher/swho have learnt thelanguage.

Teaching team including someonewith the authority to teach and accessto a range of resources, including oraland written texts, maps, oral historiesand stories.

Community / language owners

Approval to use language and culture and a commitment to language maintenance.

Approval to use language and culture and a commitment to language maintenance.

Approval to use language and culture in a curriculum program.

Approval to uselanguage and cultureand a commitmentto languagerevitalisation.

Approval to uselanguage andculture and acommitment tolanguage renewal.

Approval to uselanguage and cultureand a commitment to language reclamation.

Approval to use language and culturein a curriculum program.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

PATHWAYFIRST LANGUAGE

PATHWAY (L1)SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER

PATHWAY (L2)LANGUAGE REVIVAL

PATHWAY (LR)LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL

AWARENESS PATHWAY (LCA)

L1 Maintenance L1 Bilingual LR Revitalisation LR Renewal LR Reclamation

Language Everyone in thecommunity speaksthe language mostof the time.

Everyone in thecommunity speaksthe language mostof the time.

The language is spoken by an entirecommunity. May not belong to thecountry on which the school is located.

A generation of old people know the language.

Only a few old people know the language.

No one speaks the language ‘right through’ any more.

Can be any language. May belong to the country on which the school is located.

Students Students speakthe language on adaily basis as theirfirst language.

Students speakthe language on a daily basis as theirfirst language.

Students don’t speak the language. Students may understand some of the language and speak some words and phrases.

Students have limited to no understanding of the language.

Students have limited to no understanding of the language.

Students don’t speak the language.

Schoolcommitment

Minimumteaching times:

T–6: 1 hour per day.

7–12: 2 hours per week.

Minimumteaching times:

Varies, but the firstlanguage will be used fora large percentage of theteaching time across alllanguage areas in earlyyears and maintained inmiddle and senior years.

Minimum teaching times:

T–6: 1.25 hours a week.

7–12: 2 hours a week.

Minimum teaching times: 1 hour per day.

Minimum teaching times: 1 hour per day.

Minimum teaching times: 1 hour per day.

Minimum teaching times:

T–6: 1.25 hours a week.

7–12: 2 hours a week.

Teachersandresources

Teaching teamincluding a speaker isavailable.

Teaching teams andcurriculum developers develop materials across a range of learning areas, including reading materials.

Teaching team including a speaker ofthe language and a range of teachingmaterials, including written materialsand access to country visits.

Teaching team including a speaker is available.

Teaching team including a speaker is available.

Teaching team including a teacher/s who have learnt the language.

Teaching team including someone with the authority to teach and access to a range of resources, including oral and written texts, maps, oral histories and stories.

Community/ languageowners

Approval to uselanguage and cultureand a commitment tolanguage maintenance.

Approval to uselanguage and cultureand a commitment tolanguage maintenance.

Approval to use language and culture ina curriculum program.

Approval to use language and culture and a commitment to language revitalisation.

Approval to use language and culture and a commitment to language renewal.

Approval to use language and culture and a commitment to language reclamation.

Approval to use language and culture in a curriculum program.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Appendix 2. Working with

Children Clearance Notices

This information has been produced

assist schools with understanding and

meeting their Working with Children

Clearance responsibilities under the

Care and Protection of Children Act.

Refer to the Working with Children

Clearance Notices (Ochre Card) policy

and the Care and Protection of Children

Act for further information.

Who needs an Ochre Card?

All people engaged in child-related work in the NT are required to have a Working with Children Clearance Notice (Ochre Card).

Pursuant to Section 185 of the Care and Protection of Children Act (the Act), a person is engaged in child-related work if they are working (paid or unpaid), volunteering or training within any school in the Northern Territory, including non-government schools and independent public schools, where the work may potentially involve contact with children.

Who is exempt from requiring an Ochre Card?

Section 186 of the Act provides the following three exemptions to the requirement to have an Ochre Card. The individual must meet all of the criteria for the exemption type they fall within.

EXEMPTION TYPE CRITERIA (note the person must meet all of the criteria under the exemption type)

Parent The individual:

1. is engaged as a voluntary worker in a capacity other than for work requiring overnight stay; and

2. is a parent of at least one of the children with whom they may have contact with at the school; and

3. is working under the direct supervision of someone who holds a current clearance notice; and

4. is not required by the principal of the school to hold a clearance notice.

Under 15 The individual:

1. is less than 15 years of age.

Interstate resident The individual:

1. is not a resident of the Territory; and

2. is engaged as a voluntary worker to perform child-related work; and

3. is so engaged for a total period that does not exceed the limit prescribed by regulation (14 days within a 12-month period).

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Accessing identification to applyfor an Ochre Card

There are many types of identification that a person can use to support their application. Click here for a full list.

In cases where a potential employee does not currently have sufficient identification to support their application, the school should try to assist by connecting them to relevant agencies such as:

• NTG Births, Deaths and Marriages

• Centrelink

• Local Council office (some provide ID documents)

• the applicant’s banking institution.

What if the school needs the person’sservices immediately?

The school principal may apply for a temporary exemption once an application has been submitted. A temporary exemption will allow the person to work in the school under the supervision of a person with a current Ochre Card while their application is being processed.

This form is found here: https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/237322/working-with-children-employer-temporary-exemption-form.pdf

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Student achievement in ILC as reported to parents:

The programStudents from Transition to Year 10 have two lessons of 45 minutes a week—one in the ‘language’ room and one in their classroom. The second lesson is planned with the classroom teacher to support the learning of content across curriculum topics being studied in class.

There is a curriculum outline that has been developed over more than 30 years of delivery and mapped to the ILC component of the NTCF.

Goals of the program have been articulated as:

• to learn to speak the language well

• knowing and understanding the importantaspects of culture, such as family and land

• to develop literacy in the language to thesame level as English, recognising languageand the ability to translate as an importantskills for jobs such as translating andinterpreting, Centrelink, police, healthand teaching

• to support learning through English.

An important element of the curriculum is On Country visits with Elders as the main teachers of the children.

The program is developed across each year level to Year 8 and then as a composite program for the senior years.

The teacher appears to have an understanding of what she expects from each year level, and she is particularly insistent that the students in the upper years understand the grammar of the language, which is taught using English terms.

While the program as outlined provides for differentiated outcomes for each year level, the actual teaching and learning strategies, especially in the upper grades, need to be further developed in order to achieve the identified learning outcomes.

A–E grades are reported to parents each semester, but it is not clear what evidence is used to make a judgement. However, as a result of recent professional learning, the teacher has begun to develop simple assessment rubrics to guide assessment of the program.

Appendix 3. Case studies

School 1 First language (L1 maintenance

The languageThe language used is the language of everyday communication in this community (pop. 640) and in other smaller communities, and it is one of a number of languages spoken in a large regional centre nearby.

The children have typically learnt the language from their families as a first language and use it at home and at play. The students may have varying skills in other languages, including varieties of English, and are learning English at school.

Student participation and achievement

School enrolment: 130–145

A B C D E F

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Staffing and resourcesThe program is taught by a qualified and experienced language teacher with the support of an Assistant Teacher (AT).

There is a language room where two language workers produce resources. These resources consist of mainly paper resources: books, flashcards and worksheets. These workers have been supervised by the deputy principal, culture, another qualified Aboriginal teacher, who is a member of the school leadership team.

The curriculum coordinator responsible for the implementation of the school curriculum plan currently works with the teacher to provide some support to meet the school requirements for planning and assessment.

The program, including teachers and language workers, is funded from within the school budget.

Professional learningThe teacher has had access to a two-day workshop each year with teachers of Aboriginal languages from other schools in the sector and one visit a term from a curriculum consultant. These workshops and visits have included introduction to using the interactive whiteboard for teaching and strategies for assessment.

The teacher has previously enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Teaching Aboriginal Languages run through Sydney University. Despite attending one workshop and receiving tutorial support, she did not complete the unit successfully but is keen to continue with post-graduate education.

Informal support is provided from a visiting linguist undertaking research in the community.

Attempts to deliver regular school-based sessions in language, including literacy, for younger ATs in the school were begun but could not be sustained.

Strengths and opportunitiesLanguage has been taught and used as a medium of instruction in this school for more than 30 years. The current curriculum draws on curriculum work done in the 1990s by a cohort of qualified local teachers working with a group of Elders in collaboration with an international non-government organisation, a local language centre and a higher education institution.

Weaknesses and threatsMany of the qualified teachers involved in the development of the program have now retired, and while there is some interest from younger ATs in teaching language, there is no obvious professional and career development pathway to achieve this.

Teachers and ATs lament the decline in involvement of the old people in the program, reinforcing the importance of their involvement in leading and working in the program.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

The languageThe language is used as the language of everyday communication in this community (pop: 1200). The children have typically learnt the language from their families as a first language and use it at home and at play. The students may have varying skills in other languages, including varieties of English, and are learning English at school.

The focus of this program is culture only.

Student participation and achievement

School enrolment: 299

Student achievement in ILC as reported to parents:

The programThe program is taught one week a semester On Country with Elders, ATs and the classroom teacher. The content of the program is decided by Elders and classroom teachers at the local level. ATs reported covering aspects of the culture and communication strands from the NTCF ILC with the students, including:

• ways to interact with peers, teachers and Elders to share information

• participating in shared tasks and activities that involve following instructions and cooperating with peers

• finding out information about country, people and kinship and the natural environment through active listening, showing interest, asking questions and contributing ideas

• developing the full range of vocabulary, including classificatory and topic language

• learning ways to talk with others, including peers and Elders

• learning about the different languages and forms that might be spoken/used in their community.

A–E grades were recorded in SAIS, but it is not clear how the students were assessed or what criteria were used to allocate grades.

Staffing and resourcesThe program is organised to be delivered for one week a semester in class groups by Elders and with the assistance of the ATs. The co-principal of the school, a qualified and experienced local teacher, provides leadership for this program.

The program is funded from within the school budget.

Professional learningATs are enrolled in formal training through the Diploma of Education Support at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and undertake some units related to teaching language and literacy including a specific unit, Supporting the Teaching of Indigenous Languages and Cultures, within this program.

Strengths and opportunitiesThere is a history of language work and written materials from a past bilingual program. The current program has been running for about four years and is deemed by the school to be sustainable in terms of resources.

Weaknesses and threatsNone identified.

School 2 First language (L1) maintenance - culture only

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

A B C D E

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

The languageThe language taught is the language of the country on which the community has been developed (pop: approx. 1200) and is the heritage language of the majority of the students. The language is spoken by some of the adults but not all. Kriol is the language of general communication in the community and would be the first language of most of the students, who learn through the medium of English at school. Some children have some passive knowledge of the language, but few students come to school with even a limited capacity to speak the language.

Student participation and achievement

School enrolment: 164

Student achievement in ILC as reported to parents:

The programStudents from Pre-school to Year 9 have 90 minutes a week scheduled into the school timetable. Currently, students go to the language room, where they are taught by a teaching team of a non-Aboriginal teacher-linguist and the language teacher, who is an experienced AT with two years of formal teacher training. A culture week for students to go On Country with Elders is scheduled each semester.

A thematic program is developed between the teacher-linguist and the language teacher with a focus on listening and speaking, cultural knowledge and learning about the language. Learning outcomes are identified from the NTCF ILC and language-specific linguistic work provided by a visiting linguist from the department.

A teaching model for each lesson is used that is based around the ‘Do-Talk-Record’ model and includes:

• songs

• introduction of new topic/language

• an activity reinforcing new language/topic

• recording learning through drawing, groupmurals and writing.

Students in the older years are encouraged to read stories in language, to write words and sentences and to label drawings, pictures, charts, diagrams and short texts.

There is no clear set of assessment tasks to establish baseline data for measurement of learning and achievement. The teacher-linguist feels that this is necessary to ensure differentiated delivery and valid assessment of progress and achievement, as students come with varying levels of language proficiency.

School 3 Language revival (LR) revitalisation

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 A B C D E

michelle.wells1
Cross-Out
Students

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Staffing and resourcesThe school is designated as a bilingual school and receives additional funding for the delivery of the program.

The program is staffed by a teacher-linguist, a qualified non-Aboriginal teacher with significant experience in language teaching and working in remote NT contexts, an AT who is a language speaker with two years of teacher training and many years of experience in the classroom, and two Elders who share a literacy worker position. Further support has been provided by visiting linguists and consultants from the department.

A significant number of resources that have been developed over a long period of time are available for use. These resources include sample programs, handbooks to support delivery, and a range of visual and print resources.

There are currently a number of younger people employed through a Parent and Community Engagement (PACE)/Indigenous development grant to write and record songs in the language working in the language centre. These young people are available to work with the students in small groups under the direction of the teacher-linguist and the AT.

Professional learningTeachers and ATs participate in regional moderation workshops with other schools in the region.

One of the ATs indicated that she had participated in a short training program from the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity (RNLD) program run by visiting linguists but could not provide details. The AT also indicated that she would like to learn more about the language, about linguistics and reading and writing.

Strengths and opportunitiesThere are a range of quality curriculum resources, including model programs and activities to support the teaching of listening and speaking.

A PACE/Indigenous employment program being run within the community provides opportunities for young adults to continue to learn the language and to work with children in an on-the-job apprenticeship-type model.

Weaknesses and threatsThe program is vulnerable to staffing changes. It is currently taught by a teaching team of a non-Aboriginal teacher and a local AT, who is a speaker of the language. It is not clear whether there are other speakers with similar experience and teacher training who would easily be able to replace the current language teacher.

While there are a lot of resources, there needs to be documentation of the program and resources in a way that is accessible for handover to new staff.

The AT is clear that this program cannot be responsible for making the language the main language of communication in the community again. She speaks the language to her own children and grandchildren and teaches the language in school, but she cannot change what language people in the community choose to use for the full range of functions.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

The languageThe learners are typically English language speakers learning the language. The language taught is not the language of the country where the school is located as this is no longer used and spoken with a full linguistic code. The language taught belongs to another area in the NT where it is still spoken right through and used as the main language of communication. There are speakers living locally who can act as part-time teachers. The school has written permission to teach the language from the owners of the language being taught and the local language group.

Student participation and achievement

School enrolment: 367

Student achievement in ILC as reported to parents:

The programThe program was introduced as a way of increasing the number of Aboriginal students who achieve in the Languages learning area of the middle school curriculum and to provide a foundation for the study of Aboriginal languages in senior secondary school. It was intended to enhance the understanding of Aboriginal cultures and to develop empathy among non-Aboriginal students enrolled in the program.

Students have scheduled lessons of two hours a week. While none of the allocated teachers are speakers of the language, they have identified some

School 4 Second language (L2)

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 A B C D E

local informants to provide language input. In Year 7, there is a general introduction to Aboriginal languages with a heavy emphasis on cultural content. Students can exit after one semester. In Years 8 and 9, students choose to study the language for the whole year and move onto language outcomes, including greetings, vocabulary and making sentences, and the study of some creation stories.

Staffing and resourcesA teacher is allocated to coordinate and deliver the program, and a budget allocation from within the school budget is provided for resources and part-time instructors.

The language is taught by a teaching team, with a qualified teacher who is not a speaker of the language supported by part-time language speakers/teachers. It is difficult maintaining the regular input of the part-time language speakers/teachers as they sometimes return to their home community or have family and other responsibilities that take priority.

There is a range of visual, digital and print resources available for use. There is access to sites of the local cultural group, and students respond positively to excursions to collect bush tuckers.

Professional learningThe coordinating teacher has undertaken the Yolngu Studies course at Charles Darwin University but has identified the need for professional learning in language teaching strategies.

Strengths and opportunitiesThe program has been running for some years and is seen positively by school leadership as having reduced racism within the school. Having Aboriginal adults in the school as teachers has assisted in changing perceptions some non-Aboriginal students may have had about Aboriginal people.

There is some interest in using technology for speakers On Country to have more input into the program.

Weaknesses and threatsThe main issue is maintaining the teaching team, with speakers who may come and go back to their home communities.

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

The languageThe language is used as the language of everyday communication in this community (pop. 2200). This is the language of the country on which the school has been built; however, there are families from seven different language groups who have moved to live in this settlement. All children are being raised to speak the language taught in the school as their first language for use at home and at play. They may have varying levels of competence in other languages that they identify with as their family or clan languages. They have little capacity in English before they come to school. The language is used as a medium of instruction for teaching literacy and other subjects of the curriculum.

Student participation and achievement

School enrolment: 760

Student achievement in ILC as reported to parents:

The programThe program was first established in 1974 and used the NT Government Step model. The first language was the medium of instruction for 90% of the time in Transition, with 10% of the time allocated to learning English with decreasing proportion to English until Year 3. At this time, the program was 50:50 language and English. In practice, the program at this school now operates as 50:50 language—English from Transition until Year 3 when English becomes the main language of instruction, but the language is maintained through a formal literacy program until Year 7.

There is a scope and sequence for the program developed from the NTCF ILC curriculum. The program uses a whole-language approach with a strong phonemic awareness/phonics program.

A–E grades are reported to parents based on classroom observations, some letter-sound recognition tests, reading running records and writing portfolios.

Pedagogies are mainly whole-class activities, with some small-group work involving worksheet activities under the supervision of an AT.

There is also a culture program in which Elders from all ceremonial groups come to school to teach stories and dancing one hour a week and support teachers and classes going on trips to country once or twice a term.

School 5 First language (L1) bilingual

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0A B C D

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Guidelines for the implementation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures Programs in schools

Staffing and resourcesResources for the program are allocated from within the school budget. There are eight qualified teachers on the staff who speak the language as a first language—six who do the language teaching and two who are engaged in coordination. There are also language-speaking ATs in each classroom.

An experienced teacher-linguist fluent in the language manages the literacy production centre (LPC). The LPC employs two local language workers to develop materials and a non-Aboriginal resource production officer.

There are a number of high-quality resources, including print materials, talking books with widgets and apps, visual posters, audio-visual materials depicting bush habitats, and workbooks that are produced and published on-site.

An Aboriginal leadership team within the school meets each week to advise the principal on the management of the school. They have undertaken the management of the ILC program and have recently identified its continuation into the secondary school as matter of priority within the school improvement plan.

Professional learningProfessional learning and development is a priority for the school, and a number of activities are available to staff.

Qualified teachers have been supported to:

• attend a two-day workshop each year with other teachers of ILC, focussing on pedagogy

• join a study tour of schools in Darwin identified as running successful literacy programs as abasis for discussing literacy pedagogy

• attend one hour a week with the teacher-linguist, working on their personal languageskills, including reading and writing

• plan and prepare their lessons.

Assistant Teachers have been supported to:

• attend one hour a week with the teacher-linguist, working on their personal languageskills, including reading and writing

• undertake in-service training in theCertificate in Education Support fromBatchelor Institute of Indigenous TertiaryEducation and the Bachelor of Educationfrom Charles Darwin University

• undertake a study tour of Darwin schools toobserve good literacy teaching pedagogy.

These activities are provided from within the school budget.

Strengths and opportunitiesThe program has been in place for more than 30 years and has community support.

The ongoing professional learning and support is producing a new generation of teachers able to continue the program.

Weaknesses and threatsThe teacher-linguist is past retiring age but plays an important role in supporting the program through curriculum and resource development and professional learning. It is not clear whether any of the qualified language teachers would be able to take on this role.

The Desert Rose, the story of

Anmatyerr Language at Ti Tree, 2016

April Campbell

The desert rose has a strong slender stem. It has wide flat leaves that float around on the red earth. The stem and the leaves represent the Indigenous people and many different language groups.

The sunlight rises up in the morning, cold breath comes and blows the seeds across the desert.

The stems are reaching upward transplanting the new seeds, which means creating the stories and song lines across the desert. The rose petals fly in the air creating the special sites and relationships and connecting to the land.

Blooming colourful petals with strong knowledge, reaching out to our people, the desert rose gives us a life and direction to follow important laws.

Our people see a powerful metaphor that we have on our land. The spirits are invisible, people don’t see them. You can only hear their voices ‘calling and singing’ leading to a deeper understanding of our knowledges and different ways of thinking and doing.

One special site tells us, it is the meeting place of different language groups coming together to have ceremonies. The spirits always guide us throughout our Country. You’re never lost and you’re never, ever alone. The leaves reach far away to other boundaries and represent many voices that hold the petals together with important knowledge. As we move around the leaves, we find a flower that represents the storytelling through many different genres.

Northern Territory

Department of Education

GPO Box 4821

Darwin NT 0801

www.education.nt.gov.au